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FWLIW: this was a BYOB party. The place doesn't have a liquor license (yet). I'm sure it will be approved soon though.

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Artis Restaurant and Lounge, which just opened in April, released a statement Thursday morning, which reads:

“Last night, an act of violence occurred within the vicinity of our restaurant — and it shook us deeply.

“Artis was created as a safe space. A space where Black, Brown, Queer, and allied communities could gather, be celebrated, and feel at home in River North. We’ve always led with that mission. And what happened last night disrupted it in the most painful way.

“Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones.”

Police Supt. Larry Snelling said a summary closure for the venue has been issued.

Police say a preliminary investigation indicates shots were fired from a dark-colored car that drove past the nightclub minutes after 11 p.m. Police said they recovered two different types of shell casings, indicating there may have been more than one shooter.

The car then immediately fled the scene, according to police, who say nobody is yet in custody.

The victims of the shooting were rushed to several different area hospitals, witnesses telling WGN some police officers didn’t even wait for ambulances to get there and started driving victims to hospitals themselves.

“I heard a lot of gunfire, and then the next thing you know, there was a whole bunch of police officers driving by fast, (and) ambulances, fire and rescue,” a witness named Deshaun said.

According to police, all 18 shooting victims ranged in age from 21 to 32, five of them men and 13 of them women.

A 23-year-old man, a 25-year-old man, a 26-year-old woman and a 27-year-old woman were pronounced dead, police said. Family identified one of the victims as 26-year-old Taylor Walker. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office publicly identified the others as Leon Andrew Henry, 25, Devonte Terrell Williamson, 23, and Aviance King, 27.

Among the other 14 people shot, at least three were discharged from area hospitals by early Thursday evening.

Police said the incident is believed to have been an isolated event, adding that the space where the crowd had gathered nearby had been rented out for a private event.

Family and friends gathered outside Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Streeterville overnight, where some of the shooting victims were taken and two were pronounced dead. Family and friends told WGN some of the victims transported themselves to the hospital, while others managed to find another way.

Arielle, a woman who works at Artis Restaurant and Lounge, said she could tell something bad had happened just by looking at the face of someone who was at the scene.

“I was downstairs doing dishes when I heard this ruckus,” Arielle said. “The first face that came downstairs, when I saw that face, I literally grabbed the phone. … I know faces, I know energy. I could tell something was up.”

“The minute I saw that face, I grabbed the phone. I’m the first one to call 911,” she said.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Snelling held a press conference around noon on Thursday, where they discussed the mass shooting and the department’s plan to keep residents safe over the holiday weekend.

During the press conference, the mayor called the deadly shooting “senseless.”

“We stand here today, certainly frustrated and angered by this senseless and cowardly act of violence,” Johnson said, further stressing that police would not rest until the shooter was located.

“Shootings like these are a tragic reminder of how far we still have to go as a city,” Johnson said. “Shooting into a crowd of people is, it’s not the best of who we are as a city. It’s unacceptable and we will not stand for that in the City of Chicago. … We are frustrated, but we are also grieving. We will not rest until there is full accountability.”

Both Johnson and Snelling and called on residents with information on the deadly shooting to come forward.

“This wasn’t some random shooting where someone just decided they were going to shoot at this particular group of people, obviously there’s a motive there,” Snelling said.


blah, blah, blah...

https://wgntv.com/news/chicagocrime/breaking-multiple-people-shot-in-river-north-late-wednesday-night-chicago-police-confirm/


There's video on there if anyone wants to see Brandon's forceful response as he introduces the deputy mayor in charge of... something or other. (Chicago sure does have a whole lot of deputy mayors these days. I can't recall hearing that title before Brandon took office.)